HTC Evo 3D, Evo View 4G reviews: good rivals, weak batteries

updated 09:00 pm EDT, Wed June 15, 2011

by MacNN Staff

HTC Evo 3D and Evo View 4G reviewed early

HTC's two Sprint flagship devices, the Evo 3D and Evo View 4G, received a slew of reviews Wednesday night that signaled its possible hopes to counter the iPhone and iPad on AT&T and Verizon. Most reviews of the Evo 3D, including those from BGRas well asThis is my nextandAllThingsD, praise the phone for being fast, having a meaningful improvement to the Sense UI through app launching from the lock screen, and carrying a much improved 540x960 screen. The glasses-free 3D was mostly a gimmick, but it was an incidental bonus on a phone that was still very capable in 2D.

"Take away the [3D] and you still have one of the better smartphones in the market," AllThingsD said.

Most, however, docked the phone for poor battery life. While the Evo 3D did get better battery life than the Evo 4G in one instance, most found it difficult to last through a full day, particularly with the WiMAX turned on. BGR noticed the phone performing as poorly as most of Verizon's 4G phones with just four to five hours of regular use before it needed to be plugged back in.

The Evo View 4G faced less clear results in extra reviews fromBGR again in addition to CNETandEngadget. The Sense interface worked in HTC's favor for optimizing an Android interface that otherwise wouldn't scale to a tablet. Its good build quality was also above the class, and its pen input was complimented as a unique addition.

Battery life, however, was again an Achilles heel. Engadget while complimentary noted that the tablet lasted slightly over 12 hours with moderate use. BGR noted that it couldn't get more than two days of use where an iPad or other similar tablets could get a full week. The 4G eliminates about 10 to 15 percent of battery life.

Most concerns centered around the size, which CNET thought was not only too small but thick. The pen may also be optional and, at $80 from Best Buy, is unlikely to ever be bought by most users. Android 3 is supposed to be coming but, without a deadline, couldn't be counted on to improve the experience.

The Evo View 4G wasn't necessarily due to topple the iPad but was "sensible [and] reassuring" as long as users were comfortable that not all apps would be optimized for the larger screen size.

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"Can lie if you want but you got no hope cause the rest of the worlds on GSM
WiMax is s*** like Verizon and Sprint cause the rest of the worlds on GSM
Nobody cares 'bout your fake 4G cause the rest of the worlds on GSM
Get with the day ditch the CDMA cause the rest of the worlds on GSM"

And yes, I actually wrote a parody song about these two pile of c*** companies and there pathetic fake 4G.

what good is a phone with all these bells and whistles if the battery dies in like 4 hours unless you leave it in your pocket to sit and do nothing..I had to get an extended battery for my samsung droid phone just so it could be made usable...as for justin, I do like gsm in many ways but in the US CDMA has nearly perfect reception everywhere you go AND the handsets don't interfere with speakers and other electromagnetic devices, but other than that I would agree with your assessment.

my first analogue mobile had contacts and numbers and I was lucky to get an hours talk time on a brick of a NiCad battery.

It is very cool how far we've come in such a short time, but digital to analogue reception, there is honestly no comparison. Analogue was far superior in terms of quality and reliability, if I was losing a signal, I could still hear the person behind the static and they could hear me. Not so with digital, I just lose it.

But there are obviously many other advantages to digital, I just wish call quality wasn't a victim of the change.

Anyway, my off-topic 2 cents.

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